Mariam Kabaha is Israel’s National Commissioner for Equal Employment Opportunities (EEOC) within the Ministry of the Employment, welfare and social services. She is currently the highest ranking Arab woman in Israel’s civil service.
As the National Commissioner of the EEOC, Commissioner Kabaha is primarily responsible for mainstreaming equality and eliminating discrimination in the workplace on several grounds, including gender, age, nationality, and sexual orientation. She is responsible for making the public aware of the requirements of EEO law so they know what equality means; handling complaints concerning discrimination and litigating discrimination lawsuits against employers.
Upon her appointment, she said increasing diversity and inclusion at the Israeli work force in both private and public sectors is a priority on her agenda. Her goal is to have civil and the private sector diversity reflect the population’s diversity. She also hopes that the EEOC will become an independent body with authority in the entire labor market.
Before she received her current appointment, Commissioner Kabaha served as Regional Commissioner for the city of Haifa and the Northern District of Israel from 2010 to 2016.
She also served the Economy Ministry representative director on the board of Ashra, the Israel Foreign Trade Risks Insurance Corporation. Additionally, she was a member of the steering committee for the Collective Impact initiative on the employment of Israeli Arabs, and was a member of the Haifa municipality forum on advancing the employment of women.
From 1999 to 2010, Mariam Kabaha was a partner in private legal practice specializing in civil and administrative law and commercial litigation. Ms. Kabaha holds an LL.B from Haifa University.